After Liu Chengyou accepted the Gao family, there was no more important matter in Yedu. The beginning of winter was approaching, and under the imperial edict, the counter-rebellion army returned, and Liu Chengyou returned with his bride. On September 10th, the emperor set off from Tokyo, the war ended, and returned at the beginning of winter, which lasted for one month.
Liu Zhiyuan basically entrusted the affairs of Yedu and even Hebei to Gao Xingzhou. In order to save Gao Xingzhou trouble, he moved Murong Yanchao, who was serving in Chanzhou, to the Tianping Army (Yunzhou). There was a feeling of distributing money. Taking into account Murong Yanchao's feelings, he used his equals to control Yunzhou with the respect of the prime minister. Liu Zhiyuan was also very generous to his younger brother.
After Murong Yanchao moved to the town, Guo Rong took over him very smoothly and took up the post of Zhenning Army Jiedu, guarding the key to the north gate of Chanzhou for the imperial court.
On the way back to the army, when passing by Baima, Liu Zhiyuan decisively transferred Liu Xin, the envoy of Yicheng Jiedu, and promoted him to the commander of the guard and horse army, leading Xuzhou Jiedu and Tongping Zhangshi. .
It had only been a few months since Liu Xin took office in Huazhou. He became greedy and unscrupulous. He also implemented cruel laws in the administration and tortured the people. In Huazhou, the people were in dire straits and complained. Liu Zhiyuan really had no choice but to transfer him away. Even if he was appointed as the governor of Xuzhou, he was not allowed to stay in the town. Instead, he was ordered to accompany him back to Kaifeng and command the imperial army.
It was because of trust that Liu Zhiyuan had just handed over important places such as Huazhou and Chanzhou to defend Tokyo to Liu Xin and Murong Yanchao. But after this trip, Liu Zhiyuan realized that although the two brothers were trustworthy, they did not have the ability to calm down the situation. Instead, they were good at harming the people. If they really wanted to take advantage of the situation, if they failed to achieve their original intention, they would easily cause big problems.
Liu Zhiyuan was really helpless. After looking around at the royal family members, they either lacked in talent or virtue, or were young and incompetent, but they were useless. After counting around, he couldn't pick out three or two. Fortunately, Liu Chong's younger brother was in Taiyuan and didn't mess around. Otherwise, he really couldn't think of anyone he trusted enough to guard the land of Longxing in Hedong.
Liu Xin was transferred from Huazhou, and Liu Zhiyuan asked Liu Chengyou for his opinion on his successor. The meaning is becoming more and more obvious...
In this regard, Liu Chengyou basically guessed Liu Zhiyuan's thoughts and gave a candidate, Guo Congyi, the commander of the Protectorate City.
Guo Congyi is cautious, strategic, and capable in both civil and military affairs. Of course, these are secondary factors. The most important thing is that Guo Congyi is an "old revolutionary" and has a deep friendship with Liu Zhiyuan.
When Liu Zhiyuan was relegated to the north for his crimes and returned to his hometown due to the death of his mother, when Liu Zhiyuan went out to control Hedong, he appointed him as the Marquis of Yu, the capital of the Hedong Horse Infantry Army. Since then, he has been following Liu Zhiyuan to suppress bandits, quell rebellions, and fight against the Khitans. The founding of the Han Dynasty was also due to Conglong. Liu Zhiyuan went to Jin and Jiang out of Hedong, and Guo Congyi was always the vanguard. He was also the first Han general to advance into Tokyo City. This time he defeated Du Chongwei with the army. Although he didn't have any impressive results, he still had hard work.
Guo Congyi has many talents, he can write articles and poems, and is good at craftsmanship. Probably because of his education, he is very reserved. Among the generals of the Han Dynasty, he was not outstanding, and his presence was not as strong as that of Shi Hongzhao, Liu Xin and others, but he was indeed an indispensable type. Whenever something happened, he could always be thought of.
Such a talented, qualified and trustworthy old minister is the best candidate to guard the important place of Huazhou, no matter how you weigh it. Liu Chengyou's recommendation obviously suited Liu Zhiyuan's heart. Liu Chengyou almost saw his smile and directly informed the accompanying Zhongshu officials to write the letter of appointment.
Du Chongwei's rebellion was like a hurdle for the Liu Han court in the Central Plains. It may not be a smooth road, but the turbulent situation has stabilized. At least this clay-footed giant can move forward with difficulty again. With Du Chongwei's fate in front of him, the Jiedushi from all sides, as an important part of the country, saw a lot of calm.
But the good news, let's call it good news, comes from the north. Zhao Yanshou, King of Yan, reported that the Liao army was unable to defeat Youzhou after a bitter battle and retreated. In Youzhou, Yelu Ruan led his army to attack south, and fought for three full months. Seeing the onset of winter, the supply of food and fodder was no longer available, morale was declining, and it was difficult to move down the fortified city, so he had no choice but to retreat. However, before retreating, thousands of Han people were plundered and returned north.
The war in the north was much more cruel than that in Ye, and the Han people in Youyan were the ones who suffered the most damage. At first, when Yelu Ruan first arrived in Senan, he was very dissatisfied with Xiao Han, Yelu Xieli and other Khitan nobles for mistreating the Han people, which caused the Han people to rebel against the Liao Dynasty.
You must know that it took Yelu Abaoji and Yelu Deguang father and son decades to manage the Hu and Han Dynasties to coexist in "harmony". Suddenly, conflicts broke out and became extremely sharp. During this time, there was a lot of blood debt.
Yelu Ruan was a person who liked Han culture and had some special "feelings" for the Han people. After he succeeded to the throne as Emperor of Liao, he ignored the opposition of all ministers and appointed the mature woman Zhen he had stolen from Kaifeng as his queen.
However, when it was difficult to siege Youzhou, they no longer suppressed their wolfish intentions and sent troops to plunder the Han people and use them to storm the city. The Liao arsenal was specialized in field battles and was inferior to city attacks. Naturally, they would not attack Youzhou forcefully with short attacks and long attacks. In the past, when they invaded the south, the Hu knights fought in the field, looted, and attacked cities. The dirty work was done by the Han and Yan soldiers in the Khitan. But now that the Yan people have rebelled, and the Youyan is in turmoil, it is really a big deal for the Khitan people. Loss.
According to Yelu Ruan's original intention, if Youzhou City could not be defeated by force, he would besiege and trap Zhao Yanshou to death. With so many people in the city, it was expected that they would not be able to hold on for long. But he obviously misjudged the situation in the city. The purge against the Hu people caused the Yan army to gather a lot of supplies, and Zhao Yanshou and Yi supplemented a lot. Because of the massacre of Hu, the city's determination to resist was extraordinarily strong. They resisted and were trapped in the city for more than three months. Even though some people in the city starved to death, they still held on.
Zhao Yanshou also preached in the city that if Youzhou was lost, the Khitans would massacre the city. Most people firmly believed in this and had no reason not to believe it. Sure enough, the Liao army was pushed back...
Before retreating, Yelu Ruan was very afraid to send cavalry to raid Zhuo and Yi. Some even arrogant ones continued southward, but were blocked back by the combined efforts of Murong Yanzhao and Li Jun.
The fierce battle in Youzhou ended with the Liao army retreating northward after failing to attack the city. However, in addition to consuming a lot of supplies, the Liao army did not suffer much loss in strength. However, the harvest was also very dry, which can be described as more losses than gains.
In the Khitan country, after a year of great joy and sorrow, there were defeats and civil strife, and they devoted all their national power to capture Youzhou, which failed. This winter for the already difficult Khitan must be very difficult, not much better than that of the Han Dynasty.
As for Youyan, although the army and the people worked together to repel the Liao army, after this turmoil, it is difficult to describe the suffering of the people's livelihood. The states were devastated and almost in ruins. Zhao Yanshou reported that more than 40,000 Han people died inside and outside Youzhou City, not to mention others. It was the autumn harvest season, and most of the grain in the fields was looted and destroyed by the Liao cavalry. The Yan army was beaten and only captured a small part.
This winter, more people may die in Youyan...
Liu Chengyou had actually made deductions and conjectures about Youyan's situation, but when such a result became a reality, Liu Chengyou became a little autistic.
Taking the report from the north, Liu Chengyou felt heavy and a little dazed. He had completely lost the satisfaction and joy he had felt when his "strange plan" was successful. Basically, it can be said that Youyan's tragedy was all caused by his handiwork.
In the history books in the future, it will definitely be recorded that the King of Zhou poisoned his plan to mess with Youyan. Even if he uses the Spring and Autumn style to beautify it, the numerous corpses behind this plan cannot be erased.
In fact, the Han people in Youyan could barely be described as "peaceful" during the ten years of Khitan rule. At least, they enjoyed ten years of peace in Youyan.
For a moment, Liu Chengyou even doubted himself whether what he was doing was right.
"Did I do something wrong?" Sitting across from Liu Zhiyuan, Liu Chengyou asked in a low voice with a calm face.
Seeing his behavior, Liu Zhiyuan scolded him directly: "When did you become so weak? How did you describe the benefits of Youyan's proposal in front of me with great enthusiasm?"
Liu Chengyou's face twitched, and he used the Youyan Rebellion to reduce the pressure on the northern frontier defense and gain stability in the Han Dynasty. That said, it's quite easy. However, is this great country stable?
"If we want to take Guanshan from the north in the future, we would rather harm Youyan than help the Khitan!" Liu Zhiyuan stared at Liu Chengyou coldly. These ideas were what Liu Chengyou told him at the beginning.
Hearing this, after being silent for a long time, Liu Chengyou finally looked straight at Liu Zhiyuan, looking at the determined expression on his old father's old face. He cupped his hands and said, "My son, I understand!"
Liu Zhiyuan's momentum slowly weakened again. He leaned back and thought for a while, then summoned someone and gave instructions: "Send envoys from the Central Committee to go north to Youzhou to commend the King of Yan for me, comfort the soldiers who fought against the Khitan, and pay homage to those who died." Military and civilian.”
"In addition, the imperial edict was issued, and the Yan people who fled south were given the Chengde, Henghai, and Yiwu three festivals, as well as the generals of Ying, Mo, Qi, and Taizhou, to accommodate them as much as possible..."
"yes!"
Liu Chengyou returned to his tent with a numb face. The bride Gao Huaijin stayed calmly and was a little surprised when she saw Liu Chengyou's face.
On the way back to the south, the two people slowly had some exchanges. In Gao's eyes, although Liu Chengyou rarely showed any expression on his face and usually kept his expression, it was the first time that he was obviously in a bad mood like this. See.
"Your Highness." Gao Huaijin called tentatively.
"Yeah." Liu Chengyou responded casually.
Sitting on the camp couch, thinking deeply. Seeing his appearance, Mrs. Gao felt maternal for no reason, so she sat down, gently next to him, gently reached out and held his hand.
During the touch, she was startled to find that Liu Chengyou's hand was extremely cold. But soon, she gently pulled Liu Chengyou's hand from the hem of his clothes and put it into his lapel, pressing it against his delicate skin to warm his hand...
Liu Chengyou came back to his senses when his hand was wrapped in warmth. He turned to look at Mrs. Gao and saw the jade face frowning slightly, enduring the coldness between his chest. Liu Chengyou took out his hand, and a smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. This was the first time Gao Huaijin saw Liu Chengyou smile, but it was not warm enough.
"Go get some wine and have a few drinks with me." Liu Chengyou's voice was still calm.
After hearing his instructions, Mrs. Gao immediately smoothed the silk on her chest and left in obedience.
Liu Chengyou was not a fragile person and had already recovered. He was just reflecting. Through the incident with You Yan, he gained a deeper understanding. With his identity and status, a suggestion, a strategy, or even an idea is really related to the life and death of millions of people. In the future, you must be cautious in everything you do and think twice before you act.
